Green Chili Mac and Cheese

Last night I had a request for Green Chili Mac and Cheese.

I checked Pinterest and couldn't find a good recipe.

I know, I was shocked too.

Then I searched on Google and came up with several different recipes, but I wasn't happy with any of them.

I decided to take what I thought was the best of each recipe I found and put it together to make my own Green Chili Mac and Cheese.

I know this is called "Green Chili Mac and Cheese", but I didn't use macaroni.  Instead I chose to use Cavatappi (long, spiral-shaped macaroni with ridges), hoping that it would grab as much of the cheesy-goodness as possible.  But this dish can be made with whatever pasta floats your boat.

Boil the pasta until barely al dente, then drain it and rinse with cold water to stop it from cooking.  This is an important step because when you cook the dish in the oven the pasta will continue to cook and become mush if it gets over cooked now.

 In a large bowl, add the pasta to the cheese and set aside.

If you've never cooked with tomatillos, here's what they look like.

The papery husk is easily pulled away and removed.  The tomatillo is then sticky, but can be rinsed to clean it.  Once you have it cleaned, give it a rough chop and add it to the blender, along with the green chilies and jalapenos (feel free to add more or less jalapenos, depending on how spicy you want it to be).

Add the half and half, then blend to combine all ingredients.  You may have to split it into two batches, depending on the size of your blender.  Once everything is well blended, set it aside.

Add the butter and onion to a large pot and saute until the onion begins to soften.

Add the flour to the onions and stir to combine.  Continue stirring and saute for two to three minutes to cook the flour.

Add the chili-infused half and half to the pan.

(Caution: The half and half will pop and spray when added to the hot pan.  Add it slowly and quickly stir to help prevent this.)

Once the half and half is added, bring it to a simmer for two minutes and stir constantly.

Once the sauce has thickened, pour it over the pasta and cheese and stir to combine.

Grease a 9x13 dish and add the pasta.  Place it in a 350F oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Once the pasta is done it will be golden on the top and slightly bubbly around the edges.

I found out the leftovers do freeze well ... an important piece of information because this dish makes enough to feed an army!

I hope that you enjoy this dish as much as we did.

Green Chili Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb pasta

12oz aged white cheddar, shredded

9oz american cheese, shredded

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 tomatillo, chopped

35oz chopped green chilis

3oz jalapenos, chopped

3c half and half

1/4c flour

2T butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente

3. Drain pasta and then rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

4. Combine pasta and cheese in a large bowl.

5. Blend half and half with jalapenos, green chilis and tomatillos.

6. Saute onion in butter until softened.

7. Add flour to onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring.

8. Add half and half to pan and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

9. Pour mixture over pasta and stir to coat and melt the cheese.

10. Pour into a greased 9x13 dish.

11. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Coming this week, and hopefully tasting just as good:

Monday: Parmesan Tilapia, Broccoli, Rice

Tuesday: Turkey Stuffed Peppers, Roasted Squash, Salad

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin in Pan Sauce, Asparagus, Roasted Mushrooms

Thursday: Leftovers / Take-Out

Friday: Mini-Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Carrots

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Smoked Sirloin, Green Chili Mac and Cheese, Balsamic and Spinach Tomatoes, Salad